Ice9

I will not let anyone say anything bad about Bulgakov. I will fight you! For Sci-fi, I'm sad that we've neglected to mention Stanislaw Lem.

Argh! You're all ruining HBO's Game of Thrones for me!

I was able to get DA2 for $30 so I've been giving that a go.

Unless there is a romancable Elcor and Hanar, this game is dead to me! With the sheer number of potential returning characters this game, I think it'd be cooler if we'd almost skip recruiting characters entirely. Now, I know that isn't completely possible as your team could have been entirely wiped out by the end of ME2, but for once I'd like to just jump in and go rather than run around the citadel or various planets finding my squadmates. And with Earth in such dire situation at the start of the game, the recruiting phase has story reason for brevity.

Yeah, the Cerberus' intentions thing seems a little odd. But I'm sure I'll get some explanation that will mollify me when I'm playing the game only to reemerge when I'm done and reflecting upon it.

So, apparently Desslock would fit in well here. So, why is Anders voiced by a different voice actor when the the guy from Awakening is still in Dragon Age 2?

You could try this place. They might have something closely matching your original playthrough.

Do people have a problem stopping on area transitions, or something like that? I've never had difficulty turning in a bunch of side quests or loading up a new map and saying, "Well that is enough for tonight."

I'm sick of Ezio. The franchise needs new blood. Hopefully the next numerical game will provide it.

Oh, I have no arguments against it being better for gameplay. I'd just prefer Bio say that it is for a better game rather than come up with some BS in-universe answer and somehow manage to assume that, in the two years Shepard was dead, every outdated piece of weaponry in the galaxy has magically been replaced and scrapped. As for guarding the precious heat sinks, I think it'd happen. Why can't there be a space equivalent of MOS 89B? There probably already is one and I imagine you just massively increased their work.

I don't get all the hate for episode 2. The only flaw I can possibly think of for it is that it's still a Half Life game. It still uses physics puzzles and it keeps the same basic feel. Maybe that feels stagnate for some but I look at it and see perhaps the best pacing and storytelling for any shooter that I've ever played.

Logistically, the move to ammo just doesn't make any sense to me. How was it written off in the codex? Something about having more shots in the same time frame window? I just don't believe that any army would ever switch back to an ammo system. Logistically, you now need more people to guard ammunition, you have to have more space for arms supplies, and your soldiers are burdened by carrying more weight. It just seems like way too much overhead.

I'd probably check it out if it ever gets released. I liked oWoD then and, after playing a few games of nWoD I've come around on that too. But at this point it is so far down the line it isn't even really worth bothering getting excited about.

For what it is worth, I think Obsidian took the right approach. Games like KOTOR2 and NWN2 probably ensured the company's survival. Let's say that Alpha Protocol was the first game Obsidian released. With the way that went over I'd imagine that the road to producing the next game would be a bit rockier. Instead they managed to release a bunch of high profile sequels that sold well, gave the company a chance to develop its own IP, and has earned the company a reputation of people who can take existing IPs and make pretty good products with it. If they keep it up they'll get another chance at creating their own universe.

My favorite BG memory occurred in the sequel. My monk walked up to the big red dragon, quivering palmed his shin and watched as he failed his saving throw and died.

In my mind, Obsidian is essentially Troika 2.0. Excellent game concepts marred by bugs and an inability to release a game that damaged at launch. Obsidian had a head start though; they were handed the right to make big sequels to already established IPs.

There is no real reason why you would be unable to complete the game without a mage. Parts would be harder, but it is still doable.

I haven't played Arcanum in something like six years. It was creative and a lot of fun. It also had a terrible interface and graphics that looked like a crappier version of Fallout. That said, I really enjoyed it and I still lament Troika's demise.

I can see him as a bitter old man sitting in a bar drinking and cursing the at the galaxy for never making hard choices.

So, as for the start of ME3:

Greylord, you're list of dislikes from ME1 are the exact reasons why I like it more than the sequel. I liked the weapon customizations; dropping down to 2-3 choices per gun in ME2 felt restrictive. I liked needing to dump points into weapons to become more proficient with them. Granted, you'd assume that since Shep is some crazy successful space warrior dude he'd know how to shoot a gun properly at the start of the game but I was willing to overlook it for a sense of progression. I liked that persuade and intimidate were separate skills. Don't get me started on regenerating health; but that is neither here nor there. I don't know what I'm trying to say here. Different strokes.

Hooray weapon mods returning. I'd like some more weapon customization than what was in ME2.

HOMM4 is incredibly different. You can have hero-less armies, or those with multiple heroes, combat works differently, fortifications are substantially less useful, and there are a ton of other differences. Heroes 5 is basically Nival saying, "You know what was awesome? Heroes 3. Lets make that but 3D."

I'm seconding Daggerfall. Its my favorite TES game.